Cricket is normally played on grass, but the Northern Ontario Cricket Council (NOCC) found a way to play their sport all year long.
On Jan. 22, members of the organization braved the cold and cleared a small “pitch” on Minnow Lake and modified the cricket balls to make it safe to play on the ice.
“Ice cricket has never been played in northern Ontario before,” Aamir Iqbal, media spokesperson for the NOCC, said. “We normally play cricket on the grass field in the summer, and in the winter we play in the gym.”
Since the outdoor tournament was so unique in nature, the Rotary Club of Sudbury decided to hop on board, and use the event as an opportunity to raise funds for a vocational school in India.
“One of the (goals) of Rotary from a global perspective is to initiate projects that fall under health, hunger and humanity ideals,” Rick Van Oort, Rotary president, said. “One of them is literacy.
This was an opportunity to partner with our friends and Rotarian connections in India to lay the seeds for building a vocational school. The only way to get these people better lives is to get
them to read and write.”
For all four teams entered, the NOCC donated $500 to the the Rotary Club for the school construction fund.
The Sudbury Cricket Club team took top honours, but Iqbal said winning wasn't the motive players had.
“Everyone's competing for the good cause, not the trophy,” he said.
Van Oort said he hopes the ice cricket tournament can become an annual event.
“We've got enough spots on the trophy for many years to come,” he said.
